When Dana Altman was hired at the University of Oregon in April, 2010, he brought with him a relatively no-nonsense approach to the game. He was a straight-as-an-arrow Midwesterner known more for staying out of the spotlight, rather than the overtly-seeking-it approach proudly taken by his new employer. He offered a history of success, albeit at a somewhat obscure mid-major, exceptional reputation in regards to the X’s and O’s of the game, and a blue-collar approach for a program thought to be fraught with advantage. Now, more than a year-and-a-half later, he finds himself in the midst of a “mass” exodus involving forty percent of his first recruiting class, including inarguably his highest profile player. Is Coach Altman the problem or is he the man standing between the way things were, and how they now unfortunately seem to be?
November 17th, 2011 would turn out to be Jabari Brown’s last game in an Oregon Duck uniform. The 5-star recruit from California had just finished his second game in a season thought by many to be the first of an outstanding career. A game in which he’d score 5 points, hit 3 of 9 free throw attempts and turn the ball over 5 times. I watched the tail end of Oregon’s win over Eastern Washington that night and was taken by the body language of a player whose reputation had preceded his arrival in Eugene…and it wasn’t good. He looked like a player lost, like a player distraught by his performance, and like a player who likely wasn’t getting what he wanted. When he strolled into Dana Altman’s office the next morning he informed the coach of the school HE’D chosen; thanks but no thanks, I’m outta here.
Shocking? Of course, no one envisions a player giving-up on his coach, school and team after just a couple months of school and two games of his inaugural college basketball season, but Brown did, and soon thereafter fellow freshman Bruce Barron did as well. While no one would put Barron in the category with Brown in regards to notoriety, he too came to Oregon with high expectations, yet both would be leaving before their careers would really start, leaving Altman and the Ducks without the two guards they’d hoped would be leading them towards a bright future in Mathew Knight Arena. What remains is why?
Since their departure both have been tight-lipped as to what prompted such an exit. Brown has since been seen on a recruiting visit to Missouri and has spoken of more trips to come, but still no explanation. Barron…mums the word.
People have speculated that both were concerned with their roles, and Barron possibly with playing time. There has also been speculation that Brown’s departure was a byproduct of a kid used to getting his way – both on and off the court – , rebelling against his first taste of adversity. I can’t speak to either’s legitimacy for I’m not around the team, but if true shocked is not what I’d be.
It’s entirely too common for kids of Brown’s stature to emerge from the world of AAU Basketball with an Everest-sized case of entitlement. That’s not to say that all high profile kids arriving on college campuses do so with such baggage, but the seedy side of club hoops has been well documented. Did Altman push these kids too hard, or were they just inherently opposed to the first real coaching they’d seen?
Altman is a tactician with a system. He believes in moving the ball, knocking down open “3’s” and playing hard defense; two of the aforementioned three are not things high on the to-do-list’s of players above the team. But if that’s the case and Altman recruited these kids, he’s either responsible for misevaluating kids unfit for his style of ball, or possibly guilty of mismanaging them after their arrival? Again, I can’t speak to either as being true, but due to such I can’t rule out the possibility.
I like Altman. He seems to know the game and due to such I’m willing to ignore his unmistakably dull personality. In his first year he overachieved with a squad thin in talent, and followed his first year on the court with an exceptional performance off of it. His recruiting class – capped by the addition of Jabari Brown – ranked 20th in Scout.com’s annual rankings and he seemed to be building something Oregon fans could be proud of. But since the departure of Brown and Barron future prospects have changed, and Altman is the eye of this hurricane. It all revolves around him, for better or worse.
Maybe the departure of players like Brown and Barron is addition by subtraction. Oregon still has some talent and maybe their absence will allow for lesser known players to spread their wings. After-all, if not willing to buy-in to what Coach Altman was selling, even the most talented players would become detrimental to the team concept which most know is primarily responsible for winning. Time will tell, both in regards to future success and possibly who’s to blame for the potential keys to that success walking out the door.
Is Altman and his system merely weeding-out players, making room for the “right” ones necessary for a good coach to take the next step, or is he and his approach to the game inhibiting the “right” players from doing that same thing? I don’t know, but in time I will…and for Oregon, their fans and Coach Altman’s sake, I hope Coach already does.
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